CHITRAL: The child protection unit (CPU), Chitral, has organised 32 child protection committees and eight youth committees across the district within a span of one year and reached about 300 children to help them solve their social, physical and psychosomatic problems.

Speaking at a meeting of the district child protection committee here on Friday, child protection officer Mohammad Aftab said that they had got freed several children from bonded labour of influential people in the area.

He said that CPU had arranged schooling facility for such children as well as those child labourers who were the only bread earners of their families.

Mr Aftab claimed that attention was also being given to curbing the rising trend of suicides among children in the area. He said that in this regard sessions of children were arranged with psychologists.

He said that legal aid was also provided to the children who were victims of child abuse and early marriage. He said that accessibility to the far-flung areas had been difficult while lack of coordination among the stakeholders was another issue.

Presiding over the meeting, deputy commissioner Aminul Haque appreciated the role of CPU and assured its team members of cooperation to ensure protection of the rights of vulnerable children. Khadija Nawaz, who works with CPU as psychologist, briefed the session about the issues being faced by the vulnerable children in Chitral.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2014